M.I.A.

I apologize for not keeping up with the blog well the last couple of weeks. There are several good reasons and one eventually good reason for this. The first is that Brooke and I went down to St. Louis AGAIN last weekend to celebrate my Grandma's birthday. I got very few good pictures on this trip, however.

Also, I've been busy trying to suck up all the uninterrupted time that I have left with My Girl before school starts again in a couple of weeks. I've gotten some videos, but not many good photos. Here are a couple from a morning of tower building.



Neither Matt nor I really have bed-head in the morning, so I'm not sure where this comes from. If you're reading this and your mullet is also out of control in the morning, feel free to leave a comment.

And lastly, we have a contract on our house! I didn't want to "jinx" it by writing it, but we've spent multiple afternoons/evenings looking at houses. We found one that we thought we loved, but it was actually just infatuation. Then, we found one that we really did love, but a contract was put on it hours before we put ours in. So, we're hoping for the best and in the meantime, I'm going to try to remember to keep the camera handy because she's doing some really cute things lately. Like laughing at the same silly clip from a cartoon 5 times in a row (and this wasn't even her bf "Caillou").

What's Missing from this Post?

I won't keep you guessing. This post will have NO photos of Brooke in it. Because Matt and I just went away for 3 nights to New York City...and actually have some pictures to show for it.

To give you a little background, I'm kind of a pop-culture freak. I also LOVE the Regis and Kelly show. I DVR it and watch it almost everyday. I love their banter and I also think that Kelly and I could be BFFs. So, to surprise me for my birthday this year, Matt sent away for tickets to the show about 6 months ago and we heard back in early July that we had tickets. To be honest, I wasn't super-excited to be going back to NY. We had just been there 2 years ago (when we waited in line for over 2 hours for standby tickets to R & K that we never got) and I'm just not a huge fan of big cities. I think I'm too sensitive for them.


Anyway, we set out for New York knowing only that we were going to Regis and Kelly on Monday and that we were going to have 3 solid days of one-on-one time with each other. I'm pretty proud of how well we did staying busy.

On our first day, we explored the city a bit, bought tickets to "Catch Me if You Can" on Broadway (highly recommended), and applied for tickets to the David Letterman show. Why not? It filmed a couple of blocks away from our hotel. We took a nice, long walk across town, stopping at Bryant Park. There's something really beautiful about greenery in the middle of all the skyscrapers. (This is when I remembered I had the camera and could take pictures if even they aren't of Brooke.)


One of the million places that made me think of Brooke.


That night, Matt made reservations at Craft restaurant. I was excited about this not only because it's supposed to be a great restaurant, but because Tom Colicchio (of Top Chef) is the owner. It was a great meal and a wonderful restaurant.


He really didn't have to tell them which birthday it is. They also had a personalized menu made for us.


Monday was THE day. After waiting for over an hour to get into the studio, we were ushered in. As we passed backstage, who walked right in front of us to go to the men's room? Neil Patrick Harris. N.P.H. He was the guest co-host for the day and I think Matt and I both have a little bit of a crush on him (I know, I know...). You can't tell by this photo, but he was talking to me here. Not really.


Heidi Klum was the main guest. I was seriously in celeb-stalking heaven!



During each commercial, Kelly would come up and talk to the audience. Have I mentioned that I love her?


Matt made me take this and I'm kind of glad he did. For posterity. Even if he didn't get the title in the background.

After that show, we headed over to "Top of the Rock" - the top of 30 Rockefeller Plaza where the NBC studios are. The views were really pretty.


Have I mentioned I like parks in the middle of cities?



Turns out, we also got tickets to the Letterman show later that afternoon and got to sit in the very front row. They were much meaner there and didn't allow any photos inside. It was still a cool experience, though.

After THAT, we headed over to 30 Rock for a tour of the NBC studios. Maybe we were tired, or the interns running the tour were tired, but I wouldn't recommend this tour. I should've done my research, but did you know they don't even film "30 Rock" there? Fail.

For the few hours that we had left on Tuesday, we took a Circle Line boat cruise and got to check out the city from the water. I thought this was a great tour and would definitely recommend it.


Of course, we couldn't wait to get back to our Girl, but we had a fantastic time!

While Mom's Away

While Matt and I went away for a few days last week Brooke stayed with my family and Krissi got some great shots of the kiddos when they were all together.


With my genes, she really should probably wear one of these everywhere. Notice the chapstick in her hand. She's a big fan (she calls it "lips").


Papa T doling out "whip". I'm pretty sure that Brooke thinks that whipped cream and freeze pops are things that are only available in St. Louis. Let's keep it that way.




Luke and Uncle Matt chilling before we left.

The girls having another slumber party.


Brooke ADORES "Baby Lutie". She really is very sweet and generally gentle with him.




And Brooke LOVES her great-grandparents.


And their ducks (taken from before our trip but too cute not to share).

What We've Been Up To

Early last week, we went to the Morton Arboretum with my friend Beth and her son, Luke. I didn't get a good photo of him, but Luke is adorable and already quite the flirt. Both kids still enjoy their morning naps, so they were a little crabby and the highlight of the trip was snack time.



We've also taken lots of walks to the park. A great perk of our neighborhood is how many nice playgrounds are within walking distance. (It's time to start looking at the positives of living here since it seems we'll be here for at least a little while longer.)



Last weekend, Brooke, Ozzie and I went to St. Louis for Lexi's THIRD birthday. I can't believe she's that old already! We got Brooke, Krissi's kids, Amy's kids, and Amy's niece, Leila together for a "playdate". It really consisted of one girl playing with a toy and the other two going after it, but they'll learn.




Lexi puts everything she has into her hugs and it's not always appreciated.


Amy and her kids. Aren't they pretty?


My camera battery was dying, so I didn't get any photos of the party. We did see Lexi before we left on her actual birthday, though. I couldn't get Brooke to look at the camera in this one because she was fixated on "Caillou". Her fascination with that show is a post for another day.


Photo ops with the grandkids.



While unloading when we got home, I nailed Brooke in the head as I opened a door. Poor baby! Thank goodness for the "Boo Boo Bunny".

I Know it Won't Be Long...

...before I'm taking these photos after an actual match. (Not that there's any pressure for her to like golf or anything.)